LITCHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION

REGULAR MEETING

April 19, 2006

 

           

A regular meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Wednesday, April 19, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. in the Center School library.

 

            Board members present were: Mr. Shuhi, Chairperson; Mrs. Reardon; Messrs. Costa, Fairchild, Falcetti, Gorman, Noone, Simone, and Tourtellotte.

 

            Also present were: Dr. Vita; Mrs. Perusse; Mr. Zaremski; the public and the press.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Simone: to approve the minutes of the April 6, 2006 meeting as submitted. 

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  Mr. Costa abstained.

 

Public Comment and Correspondence

 

            Board members received the following:

  • A pamphlet from Shipman and Goodwin regarding workshops to be held.
  • A letter from NASB regarding a $2,000 membership.

 

Mr. Murray commented on the high quality of presentations at Board meetings by the Athletic Coordinator as well as other school personnel.  He also stated his concern that the minutes of the Board meetings did not reflect all his comments in depth.  He further indicated his concern regarding the comparison of SAT scores from Litchfield to other districts and the state average.

 

            Dr. Vita noted that the minutes of the Board meetings are only required to reflect the actions of the Board and are not a detailed narrative of every comment or discussion at Board meetings.  He further commented that the comparison of SAT scores as presented on the district website reflect data provided by the state. The state data does not take into consideration the high or low participation rate of districts which vary substantially. Litchfield’s participation rate is relatively high when compared to some districts with a relatively low number of students taking the SAT.  The information presented is accurate and purely for the purpose of highlighting the performance of Litchfield’s students. 

 

Special Presentations

 

School Resource Officer (SRO) Trooper Rick Binkowski and Resident State Trooper Lynn Lewis presented information regarding the School resource Officer program in the Litchfield Public Schools.  Trooper Binkowski indicated that he is the SRO for the seven schools in Region #6 and Litchfield.  The troopers discussed their role in the schools and the various programs and services they provide. These include DARE; consultation with students, staff,  and parents; teaching; law enforcement; etc.  The troopers indicated that the grant funds for the SRO program have been discontinued and it is through the redeployment of assignments in the Litchfield barracks that the program is being continued on a scaled back basis.  Troopers are often pulled from the schools for routine patrol and other essential functions throughout the region.  However, both troopers work together to ensure that they are available when need and the program seems to be having a very positive impact on the schools and the students.

 

 

Board members expressed appreciation for the troopers’ presentation and discussed the following: benefits of the School Resource Officer presence in the schools, state police involvement and procedure for dealing with incidents of unacceptable and/or illegal student behavior in school,  issues in the community and/or school related to alcohol and illegal controlled substances, ability of state police to deal with issues on private property, and the fact the illegal activity (including fights, possession or use of  drugs or alcohol, etc.) will not be tolerated in school and police intervention will occur.  The Board and troopers noted that the school is not a sanctuary and students are subject to the same laws in school as out of school. 

 

New Business

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Gorman: to approve the payment of invoices and adjustments to line item expenditure as required.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions.

 

Old Business

 

            Dr. Vita noted that the First Selectman and he appeared on cable TV to outline the budget before the public hearing on the 26th and the budget meeting on May 10th.

 

            The policy on School Wellness/Nutrition/Physical Activity was present to Board members earlier and is the first reading with changes to be made that were discussed.

 

            Policy #5141.5, Suicide Prevention was presented for a third reading.

 

                        MOTION made by Mrs. Reardon and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to approve the revised policy #5141.5 as presented. 

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions. 

 

            Policy #9270, Conflict of Interest was presented for a fourth reading.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Noone and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to approve the revised policy #9270 as presented.

 

                                    VOTING on the motion:  Messrs. Costa, Fairchild, Gorman, Noon and Tourtellotte and Mrs. Reardon voting aye.  Messrs. Shuhi, Falcetti and Simone voting nay.  There were no abstentions.  Motion Carried.

 

            Policy # 5145.14, On Campus Recruiting, was presented for a third reading.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Costa: to approve policy #5145.14 as presented.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions.

 

Policy #5145.15, Directory Information, was presented for a third reading and the word “written” needs to be added in the second paragraph.

 

                                    MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mrs. Reardon: to approve policy #5145.15 as corrected.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions.

 

Superintendent’s Report

 

            Dr. Vita reported on the following:

  • The school bus parking lot is still on hold.
  • Parent Math Night will be held on May 9th from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Center School with a state consultant for state standards for Math will meet with the Committee during the afternoon and the community in the evening. 

 

Committee Reports

Curriculum and Technology

 

            Mr. Costa reported that the next meeting will be held on April 27th at 7:30 in the Superintendent’s Conference room.

 

Finance and Facilities

 

            Mr. Noone noted that as many as possible should attend the public hearing to get the budget moving forward.

 

                        MOTION made by Mrs. Reardon and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to move to Executive Session at 8:00 p.m. to discuss Board self-evaluation/Personnel-performance evaluation.

 

MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions.

 

Executive Session

 

Present were all the above Board members and Dr. Vita.

 

Open session resumed at 8:41 p.m.  No action was taken.

 

MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to adjourn the meeting at 8:43 p.m.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions.

 

 

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

                                                                        Donald Falcetti, Secretary

                                                                        Joanne Bertrand, Recording Secretary